No reason for concern over food supply, says Dalhousie’s ‘Food Professor’

A local expert says there’s no reason to be concerned about food supply. Dalhousie’s Sylvain Charlebois, known as the “food professor”, says seeing some shortages at the grocery store is not unusual

CITYnews halifax \ Mark Hodgins

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A local expert says there’s no reason to be concerned about food supply. 

Dalhousie’s Sylvain Charlebois, known as the “food professor”, says seeing some shortages at the grocery store is not unusual.

“I know in the HRM some people have seen empty shelves sporadically here and there which is really normal,” Charlebois offered. “To be honest I’ve been seeing empty shelves for months. Knowing what’s going on in the food industry, there is some supply chain fatigue out there.”

Charlebois says while the trucker vaccine mandate is another obstacle, the food industry is successfully moving food into the country and into the HRM.

“Is it a factor? Of course it is. It is an extra obstacle, but what I’m seeing so far is an industry working with the mandate.”

Omicron was a huge blow for the industry according to Charlebois. He says the impact on the labour force created significant impacts.

The professor also points to strikes and snowstorms as causing some delays.